Chapter 2: Welcome Back to Hell, Scarlett (1)

*******12 years later******

"Can't believe I'm graduating so soon!" Scarlett muttered to herself as she submitted her final project online. "How time flies?! Mom, your daughter is now a big girl." Her eyes laced agonizing sorrow as she thought about her mother, who had passed away a few years ago. She never really remembered her mother, other than the stories her father would tell her. But Scarlett always missed her terribly, but she didn't have time to indulge her emotions.

As soon as she hit "submit", her phone rang. It was her father. "Scarlett, I need you to come back to New York. There's a situation that requires your expertise."

"What kind of situation?" Scarlett asked, feeling a sense of trepidation.

"There's been a breach in one of our safehouses. We need you to retrieve a package and ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"But Dad, can I at least wait until our graduation ceremony?" Scarlett pleaded gently as she wasn't exactly ready (*at least mentally*) to be flung back to her father's criminal world.

"No, Scarlett! Do you not understand the weight of your position as my heiress?" Lovato roared.

Scarlett rolled her eyes internally at his words; who knew better than her what pressure she had started facing since January.

"You will do as I say!" He spat coldly.

Scarlett sighed. She had been hoping to take a break after graduation, but duty would eventually call. "I'll be on the next flight," she said before hanging up.

"Here goes nothing!" She lamented as she walked towards her closet, ready to go back to New York city and all the dangers in it. Good thing she had taken her sweet time to learn different things while growing up here in Europe, or else she would have been dead before she knew what hit her.

As she landed in New York,  Scarlett felt her stomach knot with dread as the cobblestones crunched beneath her feet. She knew she was walking towards danger, and for 12 years she had trained for a moment like this. And yet, nothing could prepare her for the challenges that lay ahead in New York City.

After meeting with her father's contact and receiving the necessary information, she arrived at the safehouse, Scarlett noticed that the door was slightly ajar - someone had already been there. Her hand rested on the gun holster at her hip as she stepped through the doorway, silently assessing each corner of the darkened room. Just as she went to retrieve the package, a voice behind her uttered two chilling words: "Drop it."

Scarlett slowly turned around and saw a man with dangerous eyes standing before her. His mouth curled into a sinister smirk and his hands were firmly positioned on the trigger of his weapon. She was caught in an inescapable bind - if she moved, he would shoot. "Drop the gun!"

Scarlett's heart raced as she tried to think of a way out. She knew that one wrong move could result in serious injury or even death. She slowly raised her hands, making sure to keep eye contact with the man.

"Who are you?" she asked, trying to buy herself some time.

The man chuckled. "You don't recognize me, Scarlett? I'm hurt," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Scarlett's mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. She thought she had never seen this man before, but he clearly knew her. She realized that he might be one of her father's enemies - someone who wanted to take over the criminal empire that she was set to inherit.

"I don't know who you are," she said firmly, trying to sound confident despite the fear that gripped her.

The man took a step closer to her, his gun still pointed at her. "That's too bad. I was hoping we could have a little chat before you become my boss." His voice was sultry and it dripped with seduction as he spoke. 

Scarlett's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to think of a way out. She knew that if she made the wrong decision now, it could be the end of everything she had worked for. She slowly reached for her back pocket, hoping that the man wouldn't notice.

"What do you want?" Scarlett asked, trying to sound calm even though her nerves were frayed.

The man's smirk grew wider. "What do I want? I want your father's empire, Scarlett. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get it."

Scarlett's hand closed around the handle of the small knife she had concealed in her pocket. She took a deep breath and hoped that the man wouldn't see what she was doing.

"Well, you're not going to get it," she said firmly, raising her hands again in a gesture of surrender.

The man laughed. "Oh, I think I will get your father's empire, Scarlett. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get it," he said, as he took another step closer to her.

Scarlett's hand slowly closed around the handle of her own gun, hidden in her back pocket. She knew that if she didn't act fast, this man would not hesitate to take her down. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her shaking hands.

"You won't get anything from me," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

The man laughed, a mesmerizing, deep throttle sound that echoed through the empty room. "Oh, I think I will," he said, his eyes glittering with amusement.

Somehow, Scarlett thought his expressions didn't quite fit their current situation, unless he was a psycho… And she was sure the underworld isn't scarce of them.

Scarlett knew what she had to do. With lightning speed, she pulled out her gun and fired. The bullet would have hit the man in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards but his reflexes were as fast as lightning, it was inhumane! He let out a chuckle before pulling her to him, their body so close that she could perceive his sandalwood scent.

Scarlett stood there for a moment, panting heavily and trying to comprehend what was going on.

"You see, your reflexes aren't faster than mine. And I'm also better at anticipating. What made you think you would actually hit me?" he whispered into her ear, effectively making her shiver. She was two- in- a- half foot shorter than him, but his body was pressed against hers as closely as possible, almost making her lose her breath, even though she knew that he was not in any way trying to seduce her.

Had it not been for her self-control and the hope that this man would let her go, she would have tried to struggle so she could get away from him.

The man pulled on the hand holding the gun and in the same move, pulled her closer to him, so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She gasped slightly as he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"It's cute," he said as his lips brushed against her earlobe, "how you think you can get away from me." His words sent shivers down her spine and a heat that she couldn't deny began to build between her legs. She had never felt this way before, and she couldn't understand why she was feeling this way towards a man who had her hostage.

The man sensed her arousal and a smirk formed on his lips. He leaned in closer and brushed his lips against her earlobes, tasting the fear and anticipation that was mixed with her sweet vanilla scent. She tried to pull away, but his grip on her was too strong. His tongue explored her already pink earlobes with a fierce intensity that left her breathless.

She moaned quietly, surprised at her own desire. He broke the kiss and leaned back, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"You see, I can take whatever I want," he said, his voice low and husky. "But don't you worry Scarlett, because from now on… you have become my Mafia Lord's heiress." He chuckled before letting go of her tiny waist that seemed to fit just right in his hands. 

"You...you.." She stuttered, unable to calm her body's excitement. Her cheeks flushed red from the heat within and from embarrassment. "Why did...did you do..do that?!"

"Well," He said, pulling out a small black book from his suit pocket. "That's the way I greet beautiful ladies like you… Don't worry though, you're my first."

"Ugh.." Scarlett looks at him in confusion, still not getting his point.

"Remember the little guy with the big machine gun you always ran away from, when you were younger?" He arched his brows as he brazenly stared at her beautiful figure.

Realization burst like a water balloon, "Little GunMan? Romero!!" Scarlett squeaked. That dainty teenager that always protected her when she was young, no matter how scared she was of him…. He never took his eyes off her.

"Now you remember, Scaredy Scarlett!" Romero teased as his eyes turned into slits from smiling too much. His innocent little doll was back… Just this time, she was ravishing.

Romero took off to the train station earlier than expected after hearing about Scarlett's return. He was quite annoyed that someone had dared to wake him up from his nap, until he heard it was her. The little doll he dreamed of for years. But of course he was Lovato's most trusted hitsman, so he had good information of Scarlett's whereabouts; otherwise Romero wouldn't be there just yet.

Scarlett's mind raced as she tried to process everything that had just happened. So her childhood protector was now the infamous hitman, Romero. And now, she was apparently the heiress he would now serve. How was any of this real? It all still seemed like some sort of twisted dream.

Romero chuckled at Scarlett's bewildered expression before speaking again. "I know it's a lot to take in, Scar. But you're not safe here. No worries anyways...I won't let anyone hurt you." He winked at her.

Scarlett couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort in Romero's words. She had always trusted him when they were younger, and for some reason, that trust has not wavered even though she always feared his big guns.

"But why are you here?" Scarlett asked, still trying to wrap her head around everything.

Romero sighed and looked down at the black book in his hands. "It's complicated. Let's just say that your father actually made this mission a welcome test for you."

"But why?"

"To welcome you to the New York underworld I guess." Romero shrugged as he walked out of the empty room while Scarlett followed behind him with the package. "So, milady… welcome to the underworld. I hope you're ready to get dirty?"

"Uh...hmm...I.." Scarlett felt discomforted at those words of his.

Romero gave her a secret glance and saw her unsettled expression, he confirmed his thoughts…. Twelve years of living a posh life in Europe would have never done her any good. She was still the same innocent girl she was twelve years ago… only that she looks bigger. But the underworld doesn't understand that… they would eat her up and chew her… until she was left with nothing. He would give a month ultimatum, that she would run back to Europe in tears… and that's if she was still alive then.

'Welcome back to Hell, Scarlett.'